I was a child of the 1960s; my Dad grew up watching "Westerns" at the theater. He in turn introduced my brother and I; "Westerns" like the iconic movies featuring John Wayne; Alan Ladd ("Shane"); Gary Cooper; Burt Lancaster; the original "The Magnificent Seven" movie; I could go on. After I got older and with the advent of the Clint Eastwood "Spaghetti westerns" I presumed good movies of the genre was of days past. Then I saw this. I knew Kirk Russell from his body of work, likewise other cast members, save Val Kilmer, was not that familiar with his body of work. If you are a fan of the "Western" movie genre, welcome home. This one will take you back. Thanksgiving day, 1996, my Dad sat on the edge of his seat watching this and smiling. This was the last "Western" he saw before he passed 1.5 months later. But my being able to play this for him and his enjoyment, gave me as much if not more enjoyment than the movie itself. If a GOOD Western is what you want, look no further. Some pretty decent others have followed, but cannot, nay, could not touch this one.

TOMBSTONE is yet another retelling of the famous story of Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and the gunfight at the OK Corral. The subject is a well-rehearsed one having been covered elsewhere in the likes of John Ford's MY DARLING CLEMENTINE and the Kevin Costner epic Wyatt Earp. However, TOMBSTONE is well worth a look despite the familiarity of the material, and the reason for that is the cast.This film has an exemplary all-star cast of famous and future-famous faces. Nearly all members of the violent 'cowboy' gang ruled over by a scenery-chewing Powers Boothe are famous; we get the likes of Thomas Haden Church, Stephen Lang, Michael Rooker, the excellent and sinister Michael Biehn, and many others besides. Due to the sheer wealth of numbers not everybody gets much of a look in, but it's still eminently satisfying on a purely visual level.The heroes are given the most depth in terms of characterisation in the movie and the actors don't disappoint. Val Kilmer has never been more convincing in what is possibly his best role playing the sickly Holliday. Kurt Russell is all gravitas as Earp and as good as he ever is. Bill Paxton and Sam Elliott help to make up the numbers and certainly enhance the experience. And yet there are still more actors in support; the lovely Dana Delany as the love interest, Billy Zane as a pompous actor, Charlton Heston in an old-timer cameo, Billy Bob Thornton (back when he was fat) as a no-good card dealer and Terry O'Quinn as the mayor.The film itself is epic in length but the strong production values keep it watchable and engrossing. The Old West is brought to life in a convincing way. The first half of the movie is all build up and occasionally slow, but the suspense builds and pays off in an action-packed latter half with some great shoot-outs and choreography. TOMBSTONE is a violent, vibrant film and a fitting tribute to the heroes of old. It comes highly recommended.

Kurt, Val and Sam. They are the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of the 1990's. This remake immortalizes the story of the OK Corral and makes it palatable to the younger generation. All classic westerns should be remade. As of today, there are just a few, namely 310 to Yuma, True Grit, Young Guns, Jesse James and Appaloosa. Back to Tombstone. The dialogs are great, the cinematography is excellent and the casting is perfect. Val Kilmer is a killer, literally and figuratively. Kurt has a number of immortal lines. And Sam is the Sinatra of action films with his deep voice.I have watched this film, from the VHS to the DVD to the BluRay version at least a hundred times. This movie is the reckoning!

Supposedly the original script of Tombstone had fully fleshed out lives and motives for even the smallest of secondary characters but which had to be cut for budgetary and time constraints. But in Fraker's dusty, deep focus shots of the bustling western town we get an inkling of this ideal anyway. The church sits in centre background like it did in My Darling Clementine, but here it is not a redemptive, restorative symbol and instead something to be burnt down and cursed. Townsfolk mill about in the distance, on foot and on horseback, and shootings erupt and cease fire like they are an everyday occurrence. There are those classical wide shots of posses riding furiously across the everlong plains, and those sunset silhouettes of caravan travel (that usual motif of the death of the west, the steam engine, not yet appearing). And who knows how long the crew had to wait to capture those shots of the red scarf billowing in the wind of the lightning storm in that frightful ambush? What better to play over the closing credits then the best sequence of the film, where the four 'tall drink of waters' approach the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. They are dressed in black, and stride so confidently like the role of bringers of death that they have taken up, like undertakers ready to their duty (the thespian's description is rather apt). We know from their moustaches their history easily; Sam Elliot's iconic weathered one, grey with age and experience and good intentions (we react exactly as he does to a mother's scar). Paxton's thinner, younger one, who is most obviously the only of the brothers to not have killed a man. And Russell's whose is thick and in its prime, but reluctant and looking for a new life. Cosmatos (in reality Russell) takes his cues from Leone in the climatic build-up to the shoot-out. But the best performance undoubtedly belongs to Val Kilmer's Doc Holliday, who is electric as the long-time friend of Wyatt Earp. His tuberculosis does not hinder him; it in fact makes his sweaty face and his steady drawl even more menacing along with his eyes that seem alive in contrast. His gaze is steely and his wit unmatched - we cheer along with the bar's patrons when he mocks Ringo's quick-fast skills with the pistol with his drinking cup. And we know exactly where his loyalties and intentions lie when he fiercely objects to Wyatt's claim that he has no business here: he has not many friends, but once gaining that title it is for life. There's a curious element that goes mostly unexplored here. These men are more concerned with gambling and money and guns than they are with the arts - Cowboys shooting at a stage performance manages to be comedic and frightening at the same time. And in a symbolic blow, Mr Fabian falls later to more fatal shots, but Josephine is hurriedly moves on to the next arc of her life. Not even the gorgeous Dana Delany and her little shake of the head as she proclaims upon seeing Wyatt for the first time "I want one" can really save this subplot from veering into Hollywood cliché; it seems a little too coincidental for them to bump into each for a flirtatious horse ride and picnic, and the ending is too cheesy on the backdrop of such dramatic events (the director's cut ties up some loose ends, including the fates of Big Nose Kate and Mattie Blaylock). And some of the action sequence are a little sloppy and rushed - the river's end for Curly Bill, and the montages of the posse finishing off the Cowboys. But of course right on cue, the credits remind us how good it is at its best.